White Sox actually win back-to-back games

It’s been a long time since the White Sox have experienced something like this. It’s called, in case they forgot, winning back-to-back games.

The Sox beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Monday night and then won 6-1 Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, giving them their first two-game winning streak since May 21-22.

“That’s great. I think it’s a great feeling,” Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I told a couple of guys, ‘I’ve started getting used to winning now.’ It’s a great feeling after the tough two months we went through. We’re fighting with our results; now we start getting a little things better.

“Hopefully this thing is the beginning of a good summer.”

With the back-to-back wins, the Sox gained two games in two days on the American League Central leaders - in this case, the Detroit Tigers - for the first time this season.

“We’ve won two games in a row. It’s been a long time since we could say that,” catcher A.J. Pierzynski said of the Sox, who had lost 22 of 27 before coming to Tampa Bay.

There is even talk around the clubhouse that if the Sox go on a roll, perhaps the changes that general manager Ken Williams promised will be aborted.

“I hope they start playing better and we can keep this group together, make a little run and make this thing exciting,” Guillen said.

There was little excitement for the Devil Rays on Tuesday night as Sox starter Jon Garland (5-5) kept them in check from the get-go.

The right-hander allowed just one run - Greg Norton’s homer in the fifth - in seven innings.

“Some key pitches in big situations,” said Garland, who gave up five hits. “I worked off their aggressiveness a little bit, and some big double plays there at the end of the game were huge.”

Garland’s biggest pitch didn’t induce a double play. It was a third strike that Akinori Iwamura whiffed on to end a bases-loaded threat in the seventh.

“(Garland) had velocity back tonight, which he hadn’t had his last couple,” Pierzynski said. “His velocity was back to 92, 93 (mph). It had been down a little bit. He had a good changeup, a good little slider and moved the ball around.”

While Garland dealt on the mound, Andy Gonzalez continued to be the hottest bat for the Sox.

Juan Uribe led off the third with a triple - the first Sox three-bagger since April 27 - and came in on Gonzalez’s groundout.

In the fifth, after back-to-back singles and a throwing error by pitcher James Shields (6-3) gave the Sox another run, Gonzalez hit his first career homer - a two-run shot the opposite way that made it 4-0. The home run gave the utility player five hits and five RBI in the last two games.

So, how does it feel to carry the offense?

“I don’t think I’m carrying the team,” he replied. “I just got to get on base for the big boys and it’s working.”

“Right now, he’s taking advantage of the situation,” Guillen said. “Putting him in there, he’s giving me good at-bats and keeping himself in the lineup.”

Jim Thome followed Gonzalez’s homer with a solo shot - just the third time the Sox have hit back-to-back homers this year.

Matt Thornton closed out the game with two scoreless innings, bringing the bullpen’s streak to seven straight scoreless frames.

“We just have to find a way to win and get back on a positive note,” Pierzynski said, “so all these people will stop talking about how bad we are on TV.”

More White Sox coverage can be found online at www.dailysouthtown.com/sports